As the head of the trade group BIO and a parent to children with a rare disease, John Crowley is personally and professionally at the center of a bill targeting Chinese biotechs.
Under Crowley, BIO switched its stance to support the proposed Biosecure Act that would essentially ban WuXi AppTec and other contractors that are ubiquitous in drug development. But among the companies that have flagged supply chain risks from the legislation is Amicus Therapeutics, a company founded by Crowley that developed a rare disease medicine for his two children and others with Pompe disease.
In an interview with Endpoints News, Crowley spoke about his “uniquely vivid perspective” on the bill.
“I think our family’s experience makes it even more real, and puts a very human face to the risk here for the American public,” Crowley said.
The same month Crowley took over as CEO, BIO came out in support of Biosecure, despite its members logging concerns over manufacturing delays and drug shortages.
The impact came into clearer view on Wednesday in a BIO member survey shared with Endpoints that detailed its members’ reliance on WuXi and potential drug supply impacts to millions of Americans. Almost 80% of the 124 companies that responded said they use Chinese companies for manufacturing and development.
When asked how he squared the survey results with BIO’s stance, Crowley said the organization “seized the moment” during growing lawmaker concern over national security.
“It gave us a seat at the table as a thought partner with legislators, with the administration, to think about, ‘OK, how do we conduct a decoupling from China that’s done in a very systematic and impactful way that doesn’t affect access to research and medicine?’” Crowley said.
Initially, Crowley said BIO members pushed back against the about-face. But, he added, they were more receptive after he explained his priority was to give companies time to decouple.
Endpoints reported on Thursday that House members want to add language that would force companies to end existing contracts with WuXi companies by 2032.
Crowley said that BIO played a “critical role” in negotiating the language with lawmakers. He defended the timeframe as in line with BIO’s survey that found it can take drugmakers eight years to switch manufacturers.
“Nobody wants to slow biomedical research. Nobody wants to undermine the biotech industry. And nobody certainly wants to harm patients,” Crowley said of lawmakers. “So they’re listening and they’re trying to find the right balance.”